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PROTECTION AMD INCREASE 
OF STATE GAME RESOURCES 
Report from the Committee on 
Forest Reservations, 1912 # 



a 



Calendar No. 679 



62d Congress, 

2d Session. 



SENATE. 



I 



Report 

No. 767. 



PROTECTION AND INCREASE OF STATE GAME RESOURCES. 



May 17, 1912. — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. McLean, from the Committee on Forest Reservations and the 
Protection of Game, submitted the following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany S. 6109. J 

The Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of 
Game, to whom was referred the bill (S. 6109) for the protection and 
increase of State game resources, have given the same very careful 
consideration, and report the same back without amendment with the 
recommendation that the bill do pass. 

One of the most important arid characteristic features of twentieth 
century game protection is the establishment of refuges, or places 
where game is allowed to increase free from molestation. The refuge 
acts as a reservoir from which game can spread naturally to adjoining 
lands and as a permanent source from which a supply can be obtained 
for restocking distant regions. The movement has become world- 
wide and has extended from the United States and Canada to South 
Africa and Australia. Some years after the establishment of the 
Yellowstone National Park, Canada created the Rocky Mountain 
Park, near Banff, Alberta, and more recently has established an 
important chain of parks and forest reserves in which game is pro- 
tected, extending from British Columbia to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
Among the more important of these parks are the Goat Mountain and 
Yoho Parks, British Columbia; the Buffalo, Elk Island, Glacier, and 
Jasper Parks, in Alberta; the Algonquin Park and the Quetico Lake 
Forest Reserve, in Ontario; the Laurentides Park and the Gaspesian 
Forest, Fish, and Game Preserve, in Quebec. In Africa the great 
game reserves of British East Africa, Rhodesia, the Sudan, and Trans- 
vaal are now well known, and the beneficial results of their establish- 
ment are generally recognized. 

In the United States the game-refuge movement has received the 
hearty indorsement of sportsmen's organizations and game pro- 
tectionists. In this movement the Boone and Crockett Club has 
always taken a prominent part and during the last 20 years has con- 
sistently and repeatedly urged the establishment of refuges, particu- 



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2 PROTECTION AND INCREASE OF STATE GAME RESOURCES. 

larly for big game in the West. As a result of various efforts a 
number of measures have been introduced in Congress and in State 
legislatures, but thus far comparatively few of the bills for national 
refuges have become laws. 

OBJECTS OF SENATE BILL 6109. 

The present bill aims to bring about cooperation between State 
and National interests in the common object of increasing the supply 
of game by providing for the establishment of refuges, either on 
public or on private lands. The operation of the bill on public lands 
is limited to those which are unoccupied. Refuges can not be 
created except upon recommendation 01 the governor of the State 
and no reserve can include more than 50,000 acres — an area equal to 
about 80 square miles, or a tract about 8 by 10 miles in extent. 
National refuges can only be established on private lands when such 
lands have been relinquished for the purpose to the Government and 
the Secretary of Agriculture has certified that he has accepted the 
relinquishment of the tracts in behalf of the United States. Appar- 
ently there has been no provision of law heretofore by which the 
Government could accept private lands for such purposes except 
under the national monuments act (34 Stat., 225), and the clause in 
the present bill closely follows the provision in that act. The bill 
further provides for regulations covering hook-and-line fishing, de- 
struction of noxious animals, collection of specimens, and capture of 
animals, birds, or fish for propagation or restocking purposes. In all 
of these features it seems to meet most of the objections which have 
been raised to legislation of this kind. 

PREVIOUS LEGISLATION. 

The general interest in game-refuge legislation is shown by the fact 
that in the last 22 years more than 30 bills (exclusive of bills for 
national parks) have been under consideration in the House and Sen- 
ate. The movement apparently began in the Fifty-first Congress with 
the introduction in the House on January 28, 1890, of a bill (H. R. 
6068) for the protection of American bison and other animals and 
appropriating money ($30,000) to carry out the same. This bill pro- 
vided for leasing four townships in the neutral strip of Indian Terri- 
tory and four islands in the Great Salt Lake to C. J. Jones for a term 
of 20 years for the purpose of conducting experiments in domesticat- 
ing buffalo and crossing them with domestic cattle. Ten years later, 
in the Fifty-sixth Congress, three similar bills were introduced in 1900 
authorizing the lease of a tract of land in New Mexico for the same 
purpose. The measures thus far introduced were all for protection of 
buffalo, but early in the Fifty-seventh Congress a general bill (H. R. 
11536) was introduced on February 18, 1902, to transfer certain forest 
reserves to the control of the Department of Agriculture, etc. This 
bill contained provisions (sees. 2 and 4) for the establishment of game 
and fish preserves in the forest reserves by Executive order on request 
of the governor of the State. In the second session of the same Con- 
gress the first general game-refuge bill (S. 6689) for the protection of 
wild animals, birds, and fish in the forest reserves of the United States 
was introduced on December 20, 1902. This measure passed the Sen- 
ate, was favorably reported by the House Committee on the Public 

v V2T3 191? 



PEOTECTION AND INCEEASE OF STATE GAME EESOURCES. 6 

Lands, and placed on the calendar, but failed to receive action before 
adjournment. 

Of the 34 bills enumerated in the following list, 1 was introduced 
. in the Fifty-first Congress, 3 were introduced in the Fifty-sixth 
Congress, 2 in the Fifty-seventh Congress, 3 in the Fifty-eighth Con- 
gress, 8 in the Fifty-ninth Congress, 8 in the Sixtieth Congress, 3 in 
the Sixty-first Congress, and 6 in the Sixty-second Congress. Thir- 
teen have been introduced in the Senate and 21 in the House; 6 have 
been general and 28 local. Of the local bills, 2 provided for refuges 
in Alaska; 2 in the Grand Canyon and 2 on the Coronado National 
Forest, Ariz.; 3 in California; 1 in the Ozark Mountains, Mo.; 3 in 
Montana; 3 in New Mexico; 2 in Oklahoma; 2 in Oregon; 4 in South 
Dakota; 3 in the Olympic Mountains, Wash.; and 1 in Jackson Hole, 
Wyo. 

Omitting the bills which have been reintroduced in House or Senate 
or in subsequent Congresses, the number of projects is reduced to 
19 — 1 general measure and 19 local measures, including 8 for the pro- 
tection of buffalo and 4 for elk. Of the local bills, 2 were for the benefit 
of Alaska, 2 for Arizona, 1 for California, 1 for Minnesota, 1 for Missouri, 
2 for Montana, 1 for New Mexico, 2 for Oklahoma, 2 for Oregon, 3 
for South Dakota, 1 for Washington, and 1 for Wyoming. Of the 
local refuges, 6 have actually been established in some form, but 1 
of these — an act providing for leasing a buffalo pasture in South 
Dakota — has been found impracticable. The bill for the Wichita 
Game Refuge, introduced in 1904, was passed and received approval 
on January 24, 1905; the bill for the Grand Canyon Game Refuge, 
Arizona, introduced on January 8, 1906, became a law on June 29, 
1906; the bill for leasing land for a buffalo pasture in Stanley County, 
S. Dak., introduced January 30, 1906, was approved March 12, 1906; 
the bill to establish the National Bison Range, Montana, introduced 
March 16, 1908, was incorporated in the agricultural bill, which 
became a law May 23, 1908. One of the bills, for the Olympic Game 
Refuge, passed the House, was favorably reported by the Senate com- 
mittee, and was on the calendar of the Senate at the time of adjourn- 
ment. Later a national monument covering this area was established 
by proclamation of March 2, 1909. The bill for a game preserve in 
Minnesota contemplated the - establishment of a refuge on lands 
which were afterwards included in the Superior National Forest and 
which subsequently, through an act of the Legislature of Minnesota, 
became a State refuge. 

A list of the bills introduced in Congress, arranged chronologically, 
is appended: 

FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS. 

January 28, 1890. H. R. 6068. For the protection of the American bison and other 
animals, and appropriating money [$30,000] to carry out the same. (H. Rept. No. 
1876.) Mr. Peters. 

FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. 

January 11, 1900. S. 2331. Creating a preserve for the American bison [in New 
Mexico] and for other purposes. Mr. Baker. 

January 12, 1900. H. R. 6062. To set apart a preserve for the American bison [in 
New Mexico] and for other purposes. (H. Rept. No. 985.) Mr. Lacey. 

April 10, 1900. H. R. 10590. To set apart a preserve for the American bison and 
for other purposes. [Substitute for H. R. 6062; providing for lease of 20,000 acres at 
1 cent per acre per annum for 20 years.] Mr. Lacey. 



4 PROTECTION AND INCREASE OF STATE GAME RESOURCES. 

FIFTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. 

February 18, 1902. H. R. 11536. To transfer certain forest reserves to the control 
of the Department of Agriculture, to authorize game and fish protection in forest 
reserves, and for other purposes. (General.) (H. Rept. No. 968.) Mr. Lacey. 

December 20, 1902. S. 6689. For the protection of wild animals, birds, and fish, 
in the forest reserves of the United States. (General.) (S. Rept. No. 2620; H. Rept. 
No. 3862.) Mr. Perkins. 

FIFTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. 

December 17, 1903. H. R. 8135. For the protection of wild animals, birds, and 
fish in the forest reserves of the United States. (General.) Mr. Lacey. 
^ January 19, 1904. H. R. 10443. To set apart certain lands in the State of Wash- 
ington, as a public park, to be known as "The Elk National Park," for the purpose 
of preserving the elk, game, fish, birds, animals, timber, and curiosities therein. (H. 
Rept. No. 1874.) Mr. Cushman. 

February 2, 1904. H. R. 11584. For the protection of wild animals and birds in 
the Wichita Forest Reserve, Okla. Mr. Lacey. 

FIFTY-NINTH CONGRESS. 

December 13, 1905. H. R. 7019. For the protection of animals, birds, and fish in 
the forest reserves, and for other purposes. (General.) Mr. Lacey. 

January 8, 1906. S. 2732. For the protection of wild animals in the Grand Canyon 
Forest Reserve, Ariz. Mr. Smoot. 

January 10, 1906. S. 2966. For the protection of animals, birds, and fish in the 
forest reserves, and for other purposes. (General.) Mr. Perkins. 

January 30, 1906. H. R. 13542. Authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to lease 
land in Stanley County, S. Dak,, for a buffalo pasture. (Approved Mar. 12, 1906, 
34 Stat., 61.) Mr. Burke. 

February 21, 1906. H. R. 15335. For the protection of game animals, birds, and 
fishes in the Olympic Forest Reserve of the United States, in the State of Washington. 
(H. Rept. No. 2744.) Mr. Humphrey. 

May 10, 1906. S. 6119. For the protection of animals, birds, and fish in the forest 
reserves of California, and for other purposes. Mr. Perkins. 

May 11, 1906. H. R. 19234. For the protection of animals, birds, and fish in the 
forest reserves of California, and for other purposes. (H. Rept. No. 4907.) Mr. Smith. 

January 15, 1907. H. R. 24273. For the protection of game animals, birds, and 
fishes [in 11 sections in Custer County] in the Black Hills Forest Reserve of the 
United States, in the State of South Dakota. Mr. Martin. 

SIXTIETH CONGRESS. 

December 19, 1907. H. R. 10449. For the protection of animals, birds, and fish in 
the forest reserves in California, and for other purposes. Mr. Smith. 

January 14, 1908. H. R. 13655. For an act to grant to the State of Minnesota cer- 
tain lands for a forest and game reserve. Mr. Volstead. 

January 16, 1908. H. R. 14037. For the protection of game animals, birds, and 
fishes in the Olympic Forest Reserve of the United States, in the State of Washing- 
ton. Mr. Humphrey. 

March 16, 1908. S. 6159. To establish a permanent National Bison Range [in Mon- 
tana]. [Incorporated in the agricultural appropriation act approved May 23, 1908 
(35 Stat., 267)]. 

May 1, 1908. H. R. 21487. To establish a forest reserve and game park in the six- 
teenth congressional district of Missouri, to be known as the "Ozark National Forest 
Reserve and Game Park." Mr. Lamar. 

May 9, 1908. S. 7071. Authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to lease land in 
Stanley County, S. Dak., for a buffalo pasture [verbal correction of act of March 12, 
1906]. Mr. Kittredge. 

December 17, 1908. S. 7919. For the protection of wild animals and birds in the 
interior of Alaska and setting aside a refuge and breeding place therefor. Mr. Perkins. 

December 17, 1908. S. 7920. For the protection of wild animals and birds in Alaska, 
and setting aside a refuge and breeding place therefor. Mr. Perkins. 



PBOTECTION AND INCEEASE OF STATE GAME EESOUBCES. 

SIXTY-FIRST CONGRESS. 

April 28, 1909. S. J. Res. 26. To establish in the State of Wyoming a winter game 
reserve. Mr. Warren. 

June 24, 1909. H. R. 10942. To create a game preserve [in Oregon] to be known as 
the Siletz Elk Preserve. Mr. Hawley. 

July 19, 1909. H. R. 11742. For the protection of wild animals in the Coronado 
National Forest. Mr. Cameron. 

SIXTY-FIRST CONGRESS. 

April 5, 1911. H. R. 1705. To provide for reserving from the public lands in the 
State of Orgeon as a public park for the benefit of the people of the United States and 
for the protection and preservation of the game, fish, timber, and all other natural 
objects therein a tract of land[s] herein described, etc. Mr. Hawley. 

April 10, 1911. S. 417. To enlarge the Grand Canyon Game Refuge [Arizona]. Mr. 
Smoot. 

May 2, 1911. H. R. 8393. For the protection of wild animals in the Coronado Na- 
tional Forest [Arizona]. Mr. Cameron. 

February 14, 1912. S. 5286. For the protection of game animals and birds in the 
Snowy Mountains in the Jefferson National Forest, and for other purposes [Montana]. 
Mr. Dixon. 

April 2, 1912. S. 6109. For the protection and increase of State game resources. 
(General.) Mr. Perkins. 

April 16, 1912. H. R. 23408. Establishing the Wind Cave National Game Preserve 
in South Dakota. Mr. Martin. 

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